Shoplifters are becoming “bolder and more aggressive”, with almost a quarter of consumers witnessing incidents of theft, as well as abuse or assaults on staff, in the past financial year according to a new report.
A survey from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) found that 24% of shoppers have witnessed theft from stores, with 23% saying they have seen staff assaulted or verbally abused. The figures follow previous research from the BRC that found UK retailers are victims of theft 20 million times a year, and subject to assault or abuse 2,000 times a day.
The BRC says that shoppers in Nottingham are most likely to witness shoplifting, with 32% of consumers being present when the crime is committed there. Southampton (28%) and Leeds (26%) were the next most prominent cities for retail theft to be seen by shoppers, with Plymouth and Belfast the least prominent, at 12% and 13%. Londoners were most likely to witness verbal or physical abuse, with 30% of shoppers saying they had seen attacks.
Nick Fisher, chief executive of facial-recognition firm Facewatch, calls the figures “nothing short of disturbing”, while adding that the “devastating” impact retail crime has on staff and shoppers is at odds with “shockingly low” prosecution rates. Fisher says his firm’s technology had reduced crime by 90% in Morrisons Daily.
The BRA’s chief executive, Helen Dickinson, says theft and abuse are becoming an “all-too-common” part of shopping, with victims and witnesses potentially suffering “lifelong consequences”.
While welcoming the forthcoming Crime and Policing Bill, which will remove the £200 limit for police investigating shoplifting incidents, and make it a specific offence to assault a retail worker, Dickinson says the bill should go further by protecting delivery drivers, as is the case in Scotland.
Separately, the Scottish Grocers’ Federation (SGF) has published data showing that almost two thirds (62.5%) of retail staff have experienced mental health and wellbeing issues due to retail crime, with 83.5% of those surveyed saying violence in stores has increased.
According to the SGF, crime cost retailers an average of £19,673 per store over the last financial year, up 38% on 2023/24. Almost all (99.8%) of retailers surveyed said shoplifting had increased in the past 12 months, with a similar proportion (99.6%) reporting that shoplifting is a daily event, and 99.6% saying violence against staff occurs at least once a month.
The SGF’s chief executive, Dr Pete Cheema, calls the figures “devastating”, and says that “across every metric, retail crime is on the rise and the impact on staff, businesses and communities can be overwhelming.”
